Tilly Corteen-Coleman will pack her kit for Edgbaston in June after being named in England’s 15-strong group for the home Women’s T20 World Cup – the first major ICC event staged here since the 2017 ODI triumph.
The 18-year-old Surrey slow-left-armer, still juggling A-levels with county fixtures, is the headline addition. Two years ago she grabbed four wickets in four balls for South East Stars in the Charlotte Edwards Cup; a stint with Southern Brave in the Hundred has cemented her reputation and, crucially, caught Edwards’ eye during last month’s expanded 30-player training trip to South Africa.
She is joined by quicks Issy Wong and Lauren Filer as the only tournament debutants. Otherwise the selectors have leant on experience. Nat Sciver-Brunt captains her seventh T20 World Cup, while Danni Wyatt-Hodge – fresh from a productive winter and newly 35 – lines up for a record-equalling eighth campaign.
One talking point is the absence of 19-year-old batter Davina Perrin, breakout star of last year’s Hundred. Competition for the final top-order place, insiders say, was “knife-edge” and Perrin has been told to stay ready as a travelling reserve.
Charlotte Edwards, England head coach, said: “The waiting and wondering is over. We have named our ICC Women’s T20 World Cup squad and there is no doubt that it has been incredibly tough to get to these 15 names. This is the hardest set of selection meetings I have been a part of because the pool of players to choose from is so strong and so many talented players have put their hand up to be a part of the squad, which is exactly what we want. That is the nature of world-class sport, and it is a privilege we don’t take lightly to be able to make these difficult decisions.”
An ICC event on home soil, Edwards added, gives “a special moment for the game in this country”, and she hopes the squad can “achieve this summer” what previous sides did in 2009 and 2017.
Sciver-Brunt echoed the sentiment. “It is a huge honour to be leading England into a T20 World Cup at home in front of family and friends and all our passionate supporters,” the all-rounder said. “We have all been looking forward to this summer and this tournament for some time now and the naming of the squad means it is almost here and we can’t wait to get out onto the field and give it everything to win this World Cup again. I know how much winning in 2009 meant to the players and to Charlotte Edwards as captain, and being in the team under Heather Knight’s leadership for the 2017 ODI World Cup win was incredibly special. Now the aim is to do something similar with this fantastic group of players who I know are putting their heart and soul into achieving our goal, and that hard work will continue right throughout the summer as we start with games against New Zealand and India before that tournament begins.”
From a tactical angle, Corteen-Coleman’s inclusion gives England a second left-arm spin option alongside Sophie Ecclestone, something opponents rarely encounter in women’s T20s. On quicker surfaces, Wong and Filer supply 80-mph back-up to Lauren Bell – pace depth England lacked when beaten in last year’s semi-final.
Beyond the World Cup, selectors also confirmed squads for June’s Metro Bank ODI series versus New Zealand and back-to-back T20I series against the White Ferns and India. Keeper-batter Kira Chathli and leg-spinner Jodi Grewcock receive first senior call-ups, both viewed as long-term prospects.
A fuller fixtures list and stand-by player details are expected later this week. For now, the 15 know their summer plans. The rest, including Perrin, keep training – World Cups rarely unfold without late phone calls.
England Women’s 15 for the ICC T20 World Cup
Nat Sciver-Brunt (c), Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Katherine Brunt, Alice Capsey, Tilly Corteen-Coleman, Charlotte Dean, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Amy Jones (wk), Sarah Glenn, Heather Knight, Issy Wong, Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Danielle Gibson
Travelling reserves (provisional): Davina Perrin, Grace Scrivens, Freya Kemp
The squad assembles in Loughborough on 20 May before warm-ups against New Zealand in Nottingham and Hove. The World Cup proper opens on 12 June, England playing South Africa under lights at Edgbaston – a venue Corteen-Coleman only visited as a fan two summers ago.
